Pragmata has an original combat system, some smart toys and tight engineering, yet its rhythm and structure are a touch too singular. This is no mere 3D printout, but an exercise in the pristine and clinical nonetheless. [Issue#424, p.96]

Even more than in Returnal, the Roguelike elements here seem to exist more for flavour than systematic depth. And in that they complement the unmatched action, and the incredible visual, audio, haptic experience. It will be hard for Housemarque to come back stronger than this. [Issue#424, p.92]

Even as it wraps up within four hours, Mixtape feels like an exemplar of the form: generous, indulgent and expertly curated, a crowd-pleaser with just the right number of deep cuts. If it doesn't persuade you to make one of your own, it may well convince you to call up an old friend to reminisce about the moments you spent together. When the world simultaneously sucked and felt so full of potential. When you were bored and rudderless and didn't realise how good you had it. [Issue#424, p.114]

There's scant variety as Nutmeg runs through the same handful of sequences repeatedly, and little tactical leeway within your deck. The beautiful game is thus made less so as the rose tint softens its essential texture. [Issue#423, p.121]

Indeed, perhaps Pokopia's finest accomplishment is that it caters equally to all kinds of player: those who love to build freely, and those who crave more direction. If you're the kind of Pokemon obsessive who plays every entry and spinoff, you'll find plenty here to delight. And if you're an older or lapsed fan, or Pokemon has passed you by completely? Well, ditto. [Issue#423, p.118]

People of Note is a gratifying, if ultimately ephemeral, hodgepodge of ideas - a pleasant distraction but hardly an instant classic. [Issue#423, p.116]

Screamer becomes repetitive, overly simplistic and needlessly verbose, a hybrid vehicle for narrative and racing where the only thing less engaging than the off-track drama is the driving itself. [Issue#423, p.114]

It's not just that it's frustrating to fail but, knowing there's no satisfaction in overcoming that frustration. It says a lot that after stepping away from this game we reinstall the original Super Meat Boy to blow off steam. The real Bob-Omb Battlefield is surely next. [Issue#423, p.112]

Konami has backed a game here, then, that's far from designed just to make a quick buck. Though, tentacles crossed, we hope it does that too. [Issue#423, p.110]

Like a conversation made entirely out of pleasantries, it ultimately rings false. [Issue#423, p.108]

True, the early response to Reunion seems to suggest plenty of players are content with seeing Arcadia Bay's finest together again. The rest of us might wish we too had a rewind. Or, failing that, a particularly potent case of storm amnesia. [Issue#423, p.106]

It's one of the freshest and most imaginative shooters we've played in a long time. [Issue#423, p.102]

For players to get more out of this world, Crimson Desert requires a greater sense of purpose - a reason to remain invested in persevering through its most testing moments, to press on for hours in the faith that it will attain some kind of shape. [Issue#423, p.98]

Control is also stodgy and unreliable. [Issue#422, p.123]

The Kratos we know would most likely growl in disdain. [Issue#422, p.122]

It's a process as intuitive and satisfying as any merge-based puzzler... [Issue#422, p.121]

The final riddle's convolutions are forgiven by its payoff... [Issue#422, p.119]

Until these closing stages, though, Relooted doesn't match its cast's bold determination and flexibility. Despite well-laid plans, the execution isn't as slick as it might be. [Issue#422, p.116]

As it stands, High On Life 2 makes a good case for throwing the baby out with the bathwater, then bleaching the tub. [Issue#422, p.114]

The problem is that, in the areas where Esoteric Ebb differs most from its clearest inspiration, it's imitating something else. [Issue#422, p.112]

Like the wings of your Rathalos in the opening, there's a majesty to this sequel, even if it doesn't really soar. [Issue#422, p.110]

This is certainly the MOST tennis Camelot has served up, if not the smartest or slickest. [Issue#422, p.108]

While it's diverting, Planet Lana II never feels essential as a sequel, mechanically or narratively. [Issue#422, p.106]

There are some good laughs here, along with sporadic moments of showstopping spectacle. [Issue#422, p.102]

So perhaps, we conclude, it's the right balance of the two styles that pays the biggest dividends, tagging each other in at intervals, oscillating between tension and release - after all, it's only when one character goes absent for too long that the game strains. [Issue#422, p.98]

With just those three levels, though, Rage feels a little slight - more a toy than a full game, even if there's plenty of room to perfect your scores.

Whether or not it warrants that DX suffix, Ratcheteer feels just as much at home away from home. [Issue#421, p.123]

Every element of I Hate This Place is perfectly functional but nothing stands out, and it ends up feeling like a slasher with no blood, a haunted house with no ghosts, a zombie with no teeth. [Issue#421, p.122]